When Lance woke up, he found himself soaking in a wooden tub filled with dark, medicinal-smelling water.
As he was dazed, Gunner's voice sounded in his ear.
"Awake?"
"What is this?" Lance questioned with a frown.
The next second, he tried to stand up by holding onto the edge of the tub.
However, not only did he fail to stand, but he also nearly collapsed back into the tub from exhaustion.
Gunner watched his movements and said, somewhat speechlessly, "You'd better not move around; this tub isn't very sturdy."
Lance leaned weakly against the edge of the tub, panting heavily.
It seemed that the effort had drained all his strength.
After a while, he caught his breath and incredulously raised his hands to question Gunner, "What's wrong with me? Why am I so weak?"
"Your old ailment has flared up. It's serious. After consulting your parents, we decided to start your treatment. During this period, you'll be weak for about a month," Gunner explained while adding prepared herbs into the tub in sequence.
Lance's expression grew serious.
He seemed to make a decision and struggled to stand up again, saying in a deep voice, "I can't undergo treatment now. Just help me suppress it."
Gunner glanced at him and asked emotionlessly, "Do you know the consequences of not treating it?"
Lance shook his head with difficulty and tried to get out of the tub.
At this moment, Gunner's cold voice sounded in his ear.
"If you don't treat it now, you'll miss the last chance for treatment. At most, you'll live another ten years, and then you'll surely die."
After speaking, Gunner expressionlessly pushed Lance, who had barely stood up, back into the tub.
Looking down at him, Gunner said, "I know you're worried about Deanna, but she still has me. You need to stay put and get treated. I don't want my apprentice's future husband to die young or my grand-apprentice to lose their father early."
Lance choked on some medicinal water as he was pushed back into the tub and struggled to sit up.
Hearing Gunner's words, he pressed his lips tightly together. He knew Gunner was right but still felt uneasy.
Gunner noticed his hesitation and softened his tone slightly, continuing to persuade him.
"I know what you're worried about. Rest assured, Brent and Duncan have their own motives. At most, they might starve Deanna a bit but won't dare to harm her. So focus on your treatment. Or do you want to mess around now and die in a few years? Let me tell you, Deanna will only become more outstanding and attract more excellent men. Do you want those men to take advantage of your absence and have your child call them 'Dad'?"
These last words hit Lance hard.
His thoughts of resisting vanished instantly.
He didn't want to pave the way for others.
"Master, I'll leave Deanna's matter to you."
After speaking, Lance leaned against the edge of the tub and closed his eyes to rest.
Seeing this, Gunner snorted lightly but said nothing more and continued adding herbs.
Once all the herbs were added, he sat down not far from Lance. While resting, he said, "It's been almost a week since Deanna was captured. With Duncan's personality, he'll contact us soon."
"This time, we mustn't let him escape!" Lance said with his eyes closed, his voice filled with determination.
Gunner nodded. "This time, I'll set a trap so he can't escape!"
...
Meanwhile, on the sea.
By eavesdropping on the guards' conversations, Deanna learned she was at sea and would reach her destination in three days.
This meant that disembarking would be her only chance to escape.
But how could she escape?
Bella had people inject her with a weakening drug every day.
Thinking about this made Deanna feel despair.
Perhaps her anxious appearance amused Bella.
For the past two days, Bella visited her daily, bringing recordings from the auction and forcing Deanna to watch them.
The bloody and dark scenes only made Deanna's already anxious mood worse.
In just one day, she fell ill.
Overwhelmed by fear, she developed a high fever that reached 104 degrees Fahrenheit at one point.
In her daze, Deanna seemed to hear Bella cursing.
"Useless! Get her treated quickly. We reach the dock in three days. I don't want this wretch to be rejected."
The auction had rules: sick or unattractive women were not traded.
This was why Bella had Deanna treated.
The doctor examined Deanna's body and said with some difficulty, "To treat her, we must stop injecting her with the weakening drug. Otherwise, her body won't absorb the fever medication."
Hearing this, Bella frowned deeply as if contemplating something.
In the end, she agreed to the doctor's suggestion.